


Backseat of a Greyhound Bus

by texasbelle91



Series: Greyhound Bound [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, F/M, Song fic, bethyl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2018-02-17 07:25:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2301368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/texasbelle91/pseuds/texasbelle91
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The moon was full, the stars were smilin',  God has a funny sense of timin'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by "Backseat of a Greyhound Bus" by Sara Evans.
> 
> The song used in this chapter is "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss.

"She wore a dress with cherries on it Going somewhere where she'd be wanted In a town this small all they do is talk No wedding ring, chipped fingernail polish She always wished that she could go to college But some dreams fade, they just slip away She started to show a few months ago And she had to go, that's how she wound up..."  
____________

Daryl looked up when the Greyhound bus he was on came to a stop. He watched as some got off and one by one more got on. To say he was waiting for something or rather someone would be an understatement. He was fearful that at every stop his father, his brother or some of the countless people they owed would be there. Here he was, a grown ass man who was running from everything he had ever know. One night the shit had finally hit the fan and that's why he was on this bus, one way from Atlanta to Austin. 

Watching everyone climb aboard and finally satisfied he hadn't been followed, he looked back down at the book in his hands until he, and the other passengers, heard someone shouting for the driver to open the door. His heart stopped.

A young blonde girl got on and he felt he could breathe again. She apologized to the driver and hung her head as she walked towards the back of the bus. It shouldn't have surprised him when she stopped next to where he was seated. After all, the seat next to him was the only one available.

"Excuse me, sir. Would you mind if I sit here?" She asked and pointed to the empty window seat.

"Naw," Daryl shook his head and stood up to allow her to sit down.

As soon as they were both seated, her head dropped again and Daryl's eyes landed on her stomach that had been hidden behind her bag.

He shook his head and forced himself to quit staring. It wasn't any of his business why, at what looked to be very close to nine months, she was on this bus.  
____________

Beth wasn't looking to make friends or small talk with anyone. It was going to be a long ride to Austin and all she wanted to do was make it there without having her family show up to take her back home or without chickening out and going back on her own. That was the last thing she needed to do, go back to that small town, have her family tell her how disappointed they are and have the whole damn town talk about how she slept around. 

It was true that she didn't know who the father of her unborn child was but she didn't sleep around. Not that it mattered to anyone though, they were all going to say and believe whatever they wanted to.

She sniffed and wiped away the tears that had fallen as she was thinking about everything that had happened and been said about her.

More tears began to fall at the memory of having to tell her family what she had done and that neither of the guys wanted anything to do with her anymore or her child.

She was all alone. Jobless, homeless and about to be a teenaged mother who had no help at all. She believed she was every bit the the slut she was made out to be.

Her sniffles soon turned into sobs. Normally, she would have been embarrassed by such a display but she didn't care anymore.  
___________

Daryl was suddenly very uncomfortable with the crying, pregnant girl being next to him but he couldn't move from his seat, there were no others available.

Her crying didn't seem to be letting up so he reached into his bag, pulled out a bandana and offered it to her.

"Here," he grunted.

She reached out with shaking hands to accept it but much to Daryl's dismay, her crying continued. 

They were on the bus for an hour after that before she finally settled down and quit crying.

"Thank you," she whispered, "I'm Beth."

"Daryl," he introduced himself, "An' it ain't no problem."  
________

The ride was almost too quiet for Beth. There were people talking and laughing but it didn't bring her any comfort.

She hung her head and stared at her stomach as she started mumbling the words to a song.

"The rumors flew but nobody knew how much she blamed herself For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath She finally drank her pain away a little at a time But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind Until the night

She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger And finally drank away his memory Life is short but this time it was bigger Than the strength she had to get up off her knees We found her with her face down in the pillow Clinging to his picture for dear life We laid her next to him beneath the willow While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby.."

Daryl watched and listened to her for a minute before he realized she was singing to her unborn child.

"That's one hell of a lullaby," he said out loud, though he didn't mean to.

Beth shrugged and looked up at him with tears in her eyes. 

"I just sing whatever I like. I figure it's better than ashes or cradles fallin' out of trees."

He nodded, looked around and then back down at his book. 

He could feel her eyes on him and was hoping she would find something else to occupy herself with until another seat became available so he could move.

Beth bit her bottom lip and rubbed her stomach. She wasn't much for talking to anyone, let alone a complete stranger but she didn't want to sit there in complete silence until they reached Austin.

"So," she began, "is there a reason you're goin' to Austin?"

Daryl took a deep breath and shook his head.  
"Damn it," He thought, "why couldn't she just sit there without asking questions."

He looked up at her and saw she was still staring at him so he shrugged.

"Jus' had ta get outta Georgia. Go some place new. How 'bout yerself?"

"Same, I guess. Well, that and this," she looked down at her stomach.

He knew it wasn't any of his business and he knew she probably wouldn't tell him or want anyone to know but what she said made him wonder if something bad had happened to her and before he knew it, he opened his mouth and the words fell out.

"Were ya...," he couldn't say the word, "did somethin'....?"

"No," she quickly said, "God no it wasn't anythin' like that. I was just stupid is all."

"What makes ya think you was stupid?"

"Because, I was supposed to wait until marriage like I was the good little Christian girl mama and daddy raised. But I believed he loved me and then when he got what he wanted, he left."

"Oh. The lil' shithead didn't want tha kid?"

"No," she shook her head, "and I don't blame him. It may not be his." She looked down in shame before she continued, "After he left, I went to a bonfire with some friends and they introduced me to a guy and then things happened and well, this is what happened."

"So ya don't know which one?"

"No, I don't," she said as she started picking at her already chipped fingernail polish. "I was stupid. I embarrassed myself, my family. I couldn't stay there."

Daryl nodded. Just like him, she was running from her past and he couldn't blame her one bit. If where she was from was anything like where he was from, he knew it wasn't easy to be there without everyone talking shit about you. Even if you said you didn't care what anyone thought of you, their words still stung.

"How old are ya?" 

"Eighteen," she replied, "you?"

"Older than you. Ya got family or someone in Austin ta help ya out?" Daryl asked her after half an hour of silence.

"No. Do you?"

"Naw. Don't need no one."  
__________

The ride to Memphis was a long one but at least the were going to have a quick stop and Beth was thankful for that. She hadn't been feeling too good since before they left Atlanta but she figured it was her nerves. She'd never left home like she was doing now and she didn't have any idea how she was going to make a life for herself and her child.

The bus stopped an all night diner convenience store combination.

"You alright?" A gruff voice asked her when she leaned on the table in front of her and grabbed her stomach. She turned slightly to find Daryl standing there.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired and everythin'."

They both took a seat at that table and order something to eat.

Neither had much money so they ordered the cheapest things on the menu.

While Daryl ate his, he watched Beth poke her food with the fork and move it around, taking three bites the whole time before asking the waitress for a to-go box.  
_________ 

Beth and Daryl were among the first to get back on the bus, taking the backseats before anyone else could.

This surprised the hell out of Daryl. He had been looking for the chance to grab another seat but he found himself not wanting to leave her on his trip. He thought it was bad enough she would be on her own in Texas so he was going to give her at least a little bit of company even if he wasn't the best.

"What are you runnin' from?" She asked once the bus pulled away from the diner.

"I ain't runnin' from nothin'."

"Yes, you are."

"What tha fuck makes ya think I'm runnin' from somethin'?" he didn't mean to raise his voice and he instantly regretted the angry tone he had but she just smiled at him.

"The way I see it, everyone who gets on this bus is runnin' from somethin'. You already know I am and what it is I'm runnin' from. It's alright if you don't want to tell me but you don't have to lie to me about it."

"Lie to you? We don't even know each other so how tha hell would ya know when I'm lyin'?"

"I can just tell. You're afraid of somethin'."

He scoffed, "I ain't afraid of nothin'."

"Alright," she smiled, "but it's still a long way 'til we get where we're goin' so if you feel like tellin' me, I don't mind listening."

He really didn't feel like telling her and didn't think he would but he'll be damned if he didn't start talking to her about it.

He started telling her about his mom and Merle and some of why he was leaving. He intentionally left out the parts about his dad.  
_______

They had crossed over into Mississippi, heading for Jackson, about two hours ago and that's when he noticed she was shifting uncomfortably in her seat and grabbing at her stomach every few minutes but she continued to carry on a conversation. 

While they talked, she would occasionally stop mid sentence to breathe, her fists gripping the seat and her bag tightly as she did it.

Suddenly, her eyes grew wide and she couldn't hold back the scream that escaped her mouth.

Several of the passengers looked back at them but none moved to see what was going on.

"Beth," Daryl started to panic, "yer havin' tha baby ain't ya?"

She nodded vigorously with her eyes squeezed shut.

"Don't move," he told her before jumping up and yellin' for the bus driver to stop.

The driver took an exit before coming to a stop in the parking lot of a Walmart and calling for an ambulance.

Beth screamed and cried in the back of the bus when the ambulance arrived. The paramedics determined they wouldn't be able to safely move her.

They coached her through the whole thing. Telling her how to breathe and when to push.

"Okay, one more push, sweetie," the paramedic told her.

Beth gave one last push and before she knew it, she hears the cries of her baby.

"It's a girl," they told her and placed the baby in her arms.

After a minute or two, she was on the gurney and in the back of the ambulance. 

She cried and laughed while the red lights flashed.

"Hold on," she heard Daryl call out. "Y'all got room for one more?"

"Yeah, of course we do," he was told.  
__________

Beth and her baby were immediately checked out by doctors when they arrived at the hospital and after about an hour of waiting, Daryl was allowed into her room.

He sat his bag and hers down on the chair before walking up beside the bed and handing her a gift bag.

She held her baby close to her with one arm as she opened the bag and pulled out two little pink outfits that Daryl had purchased in the hospital gift shop. One of the outfits had an elephant on it and the other had a pair of ballerina slippers on it.

"You didn't have to get this," she whispered, obviously fighting back tears."

"Yeah, I did. What was she gon' wear?"

Beth choked back a sob as she looked down at her baby and then back up at Daryl.

"You didn't have to stay either. We don't know each other."

Daryl shrugged. "I couldn't leave ya here alone. Ya ain't got no one an'....," he stopped himself before telling her he didn't have anyone either. It sounded weird since they really didn't know each other but they were all each other had.

"She got a name yet?" He said instead.

"Not yet. I was thinkin' maybe Celia or Lucy for her first name and Annette after my mama for her middle. What do you think?"

He shrugged again. "I don't know, Beth. Which one do you like?"

"Celia. Celia Annette Greene," she said, looking down at her baby girl.  
"""  
Daryl woke up the next morning with a stiff neck after sleeping in the hospital chair.

Beth was awake and crying.

"What's wrong?" He asked and rubbed his face.

"Thy won't let us leave until I get a carrier and some other things," she cried.

"Hey," he stood up and walked over to her, "jus' tell me what ya need an' I'll get it for ya."  
___________

A few hours later, Beth sat alone with Celia in the hospital room.

Daryl had been gone for hours now and she started to get worried.

"You're so stupid," she thought to herself, "you trusted someone you didn't even know and now you're stuck here, alone!"

Daryl didn't know what the hell he was doing but he'd gotten everything on the list the nurse gave him.

He carried everything to Beth's room and found she was asleep with Celia laying in the bassinet.

As soon as he sat down, Celia began crying. He didn't want to wake Beth up so he walked over and gently picked her up.

"Shh," he whispered and picked up her bottle.

She surprisingly quit crying. 

"Ya like that, huh, lil' Asskicker. Ya like that, sweetheart?" He whispered as he walked around the room feeding her.

Beth slowly opened her eyes to see Daryl sitting beside her bed with a sleeping Celia in his arms. She rubbed her eyes and smiled.

"You should've woke me up," she whispered. 

"Naw, ya need yer sleep. We still got a long way ta Austin."

"I'm not goin'," she said. "I think I'm going to stay here."

"C'mon, ya cain't stay here," he told her, "'sides, I already got our tickets."

She tilted her head when he stood up and handed Celia to her.

"You sure you don't mind us taggin' along?"

"Hell naw. Ya ain't got no reason ta stay here," he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I know we don't really know each other but I don't mind helpin' ya out."

Beth smiled. "Thank you, Daryl. You're probably the closest thing I've ever had to an actual friend all the others, they turned their backs on me when I for pregnant."

He smiled a little too but didn't tell her that in just this short time, she's become the only friend he'd ever had.  
____________

When both Beth and Celia where released from the hospital the following day, the three of them caught the next Greyhound for Austin.  
____________

"On the backseat of a Greyhound bus Heart so full that it could bust Staring at the rest of her life She never thought this would be the place Where she would find her saving grace But she fell in love, she fell in love On the backseat of a Greyhound bus Sweet baby girl, she found a brand new world...

She wore a dress with cherries on it Going somewhere where she'd be wanted.."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second and final chapter. I hope y'all enjoy it.
> 
> Let me know what y'all think! :)

Backseat Of A Greyhound Bus  
Part II  
__________

Daryl shifted Celia on his hip and brushed her hair out of her face. They were in the front row by the stage waiting for Beth to starts singing. 

"There's mommy, baby girl," he told her when Beth stepped onstage.

She lifted her head off his shoulder and smiled, then started waving.

"Mommy!" she called out.

Beth smiled when she saw Celia and Daryl but that did nothing to keep her hands from shaking nervously as the first chords of the song began. 

This wasn't her first open mic performance at Midnight Rodeo but this would be the first time she sang this particular song.

"If I ever left this town I'd never settle down I'd just be wanderin' around If I ever left this town

If I wasn't by your side I'd never be satisfied Nothin' would feel just right If I wasn't by your side.."

Celia laid her head back on Daryl's shoulder and listened to her mommy singing. Daryl smiled and kissed her forehead as she drifted off to sleep.

"'Cause I'm not easy to understand But you know me like the back of your hand I'm your girl and you're my man And we're makin' plans....

We can go on and on Won't ever feel too long I'll always call you home And we'll go on and on

'Cause I know you like the back of my hand Got a heart of gold and a piece of land I'm your girl and you're my man And we're makin' plans...."

When she finished her song, she stepped offstage and walked over to Daryl.

"Hey," he whispered with a smile, "she never makes it through tha first song."

"Hey," Beth laughed and placed a kiss on Celia's cheek.

"You done?" Daryl asked.

"Yep," she smiled, "let's go get somethin' to eat so we can get her home."  
_________  
*Flashback*

Daryl brushed a strand of hair out of Beth's face when the bus pulled up at their stop in Austin. 

He carried their bags but still managed to help her with Celia.

Beth smiled when Daryl put his hand on the lower part of her back and gently led her away from the bus stop to the motel down the street. 

They were both exhausted from their trip that it didn't bother either of them that all they could afford was a room with a single bed.

They slept that night with Celia lying between them.

The next morning they made their way to the diner across the street.

Daryl sat Celia's carrier on the table as Beth slid into the seat across from him. 

They ordered their food and ate in silence. Neither of them knew what to say, what to do or what to make of this strange situation they had found themselves in.

Beth didn't know if she should thank Daryl for his kindness and be on her way or if she should stay with the only person she knew here.

Daryl didn't know if he should hang around or turn his back on Beth and her child.

They didn't have to wait long for their answers. It seemed their fate had been decided for them.

Beth had excused herself to the restroom when the waitress brought the check over.

The waitress cooed at Celia who was waking up and fussy. "Your daughter is so cute, she told Daryl."

"Oh, she's not....yeah, she is." He wanted to kick himself for saying that. Celia wasn't his daughter.

"How old is she?" The waitress asked.

"Five days," he said, letting Celia wrap her tiny hand around his finger.

"Congratulations. You and your wife are very lucky," she said, Daryl didn't correct her instead he changed the subject.

"Uh, thanks. You wouldn't happen ta know of any place 'round here that's hirin', would ya?"

"Hmm," she thought for a minute, "let me ask around and I'll let you know."

The waitress came back to the table a few minutes later and handed Daryl a piece of paper.

"What's that?" Beth asked.

"A list of places hirin' 'round here."  
____________

Daryl hit the alarm clock when it went off the next morning and got up.

He went about his usual routine before kissing Beth and Celia, who were both still asleep, and heading off to work.

It was an extremely hot day and working construction didn't help things but it was worth it.

On his lunch break he smiled when he saw a text from Beth asking him to call her.

The phone rang one, twice and on the third ring there was a giggle.

"Happy birthday, daddy!" Celia said, still giggling.

"Thank you, baby girl."

"Me an' mommy makin' you a cake. When you comin' home?"

"I'll be home tonight," he told her. "I gotta get back ta work, baby. I love you an' tell yer mama I love 'er, too."

"Okay, daddy. I love you, too."

The rest of Daryl's day flew by and as soon as he pulled off the main road, he flew down the dirt driveway.

Celia ran outside to him. He picked her up, spun her around and hugged her.

She kissed his cheek and he laughed when Beth stepped out of their house.

Celia was dressed exactly like Beth. Blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail with a braid, a blue dress and worn cowboy boots.

The cake was a simple one but it might as well have been the most expensive, decadent cake he'd ever seen by the way he looked at it.

It meant so much to him to know that his girls remembered a day that he had never celebrated before he had them. He had never had anyone to share it with before. Not his mom, his dad or Merle. It had always been just another day to them.

Beth was curled up on the couch next to him with her head on his shoulder and Celia was in his lap with her head on his other shoulder. Both were asleep.

He smiled and kissed the tops of their heads.  
___________  
*Flashback*

"Daryl, where are we goin'?" Beth had asked.

"You'll see when we get there," he told her.

He pulled down the long dirt driveway and up to a house with and over grown yard, peeling paint and broken windows.

"It ain't much an' it ain't tha best," he told her, "but it's ours."

"It's perfect," she told him.

She lifted Celia out of her booster seat and got out of the truck to look around.

It took them nearly three months to get the house fixed up. They didn't worry too much about some of the things. All they needed was to make it liveable for now.

They replaced all the windows, fixed the bathrooms, bedrooms and kitchen up, had all of the electrical wiring fixed and mowed the yard.

Daryl had been and was still thankful for the construction job he had acquired two weeks after they got to Austin.

After they moved out of their kitchenette apartment and into their house, Beth planted flowers in the front yard and started a vegetable garden off to the side. Daryl painted the house, put up a tire swing and even gave Beth the white picket fence she wanted.  
__________

Beth sat on the couch with tears streaming down her face and shaking hands.

Daryl took her in his arms when he got home and rubbed her back.

"Everythin's gon' be alright," he whispered reassuringly.

Before they knew it they were in the truck and crossing over into Georgia.

They both let out a deep breath when they crossed the state line.

It had been almost five years since they had left Georgia and never looked back.

Beth talked to her sister on the phone nearly every week and she talked to her mama and daddy at least twice a month.

But when she got the call that her mother had passed away, she regretted not talking to them more and Daryl knew that without her having to tell him.

Everything looked the same as it did when she had left. The only difference being the dark cloud that seemed to hang over the farmhouse now.

Hershel, Maggie, Shawn and their extended family rushed out of the house and off the porch when she, Daryl and Celia got out of the truck.

Daryl stayed close to the truck with Celia tucked behind his legs when Maggie and Shawn ran with open arms to Beth.

They hugged and cried for a few minutes before they pulled away from her.

"Daddy?" Beth walked up to him.

"Bethie," he wrapped his arms around her and cried.

Beth pulled away and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. She turned to Daryl and Celia and motioned for them to come over.

"Daddy, Maggie, Shawn, this is Daryl. Daryl, this is my daddy, my sister and my brother," she introduced them.

Beth bent down and picked Celia up. "This is Celia," she told them. "Celia, this is grandpa, your aunt and your uncle."

Stepping into her old bedroom with Daryl and Celia, she looked around. Nothing had been moved or changed since the last time she was there. There was even clean sheets on the bed and not a speck of dust anywhere.

Celia went to sleep between Daryl and Beth as soon as she laid down, Daryl wasn't far behind her but Beth couldn't sleep.  
____________  
*Flashback*

Crying, she held the pregnancy test in her hands and prayed to God for forgiveness and the strength to do right by her family, by her child.

She hid it for a couple of months but after her first doctors appointment, after seeing the first ultrasound, she knew she couldn't hide it any longer.

She worked up the courage to tell Jimmy and Zach but both men had walked away from her, laughing and calling her names. It was what she had expected to be honest.

The hardest part came when she about six months along and was beginning to show. There were rumors and people whispering when she would walk by. She knew they knew and were judging her.

She finally asked her family to sit down one night and she carefully told them what had happened and that she had told Jimmy and Zach but neither of them wanted anything to do with her.

"Well, I can't say I blame them," Hershel had said. "You made your bed, Elizabeth, and now you have to lie in it."

She watched as he walked out of the house, letting the screen door slam. She knew then and by the looks on her family's faces that she had disappointed them.

It took her several months to save up the money for a bus ticket but she managed. 

She quit her job at the restaurant she had been working in since she was sixteen, packed her bag.

She had slipped out of the house unnoticed, she left a note on the kitchen table where it was sure to be found. She apologized for what she had put her family through, told them she loved them all and always would but that she just couldn't stay.  
____________

Beth's mother was laid to rest in the family cemetery just outside of town the next day. They all gathered at the Greene farm afterwards. 

Daryl had held Beth's hand throughout the service and continued to hold it in the truck and at the farm.

Celia laid on the bed sleeping that night but Beth couldn't sleep once again and Daryl just wanted to make her feel better.

Taking her hand, he led her outside and to the truck.

They drove three counties over, to Daryl's hometown, and he parked in a large field.

"Where are we?" Beth asked.

"I used ta come out here when I wanted ta be alone," he told her.

He turned the truck off, let the tailgate down and sat there holding her in his arms for hours just listening to the sounds that had always made him feel better.  
___________  
*Flashback*

He was well past old enough to leave, to fight back but with Merle in prison again, he had nowhere to go, no one to turn to.

"Ya stupid, good fer nothin' son of a bitch! Yer jus' like yer God damn brother an' mama. Ya ain't worth shit! Get tha fuck outta 'ere!" His dad yelled after slamming a belt down across his back and kicking him in the ribs.

Daryl did just that. He got the fuck out of there. He ran until he came to this field and collapsed.

Laying there, he let the sounds of nature take away his pain and lull him to sleep.

Before sunrise he went back home, packed a bag and headed for Atlanta, never once looking back.  
___________

"Oh. My. God." Beth froze and stared into the kitchen. "What happened in here?"

"She started it," Daryl said and pointed at Celia.

She started giggling, "No I didn't, daddy."

Beth shook her head as she surveyed the room again.

There was flour, eggs and God knows what else splattered around the kitchen and covering Daryl and Celia.

Celia had her elbows resting on the table, her hands on her face as she looked up at Daryl while Beth started trying to clean up their mess.

He winked at her, "C'mon, Silly Anne. Let's get this cleaned up."

"Daddy," she huffed, "that's not my name."

With Beth's back turned to them at the sink, they grabbed the flour and beaten eggs and covered her in them.

She gasped but turned around with a smile and sprayed them both with water.

It didn't take long for the mess to turn into an even bigger one but they weren't worried. 

"What were y'all tryin' to do in here?" Beth asked after they had all settled down a bit.

Celia smiled and giggled. "Can I tell her, daddy? Please?"

He chuckled. "Go ahead."

"Mommy, will you marry daddy?"

Beth's eye widened. "Wh..what?"

"Will you marry me," Daryl said, holding out a ring.

Beth smiled and tried to hold back her tears. "Yes!"

Daryl slipped the ring on her finger, making her cry harder.

"Where....when did you get this?" She smiled down at her mothers ring.

"Last month, when we went home for yer mama's funeral. I asked yer daddy if I could marry you. He said yes an' gave me this ring. Celia was with us an' I think she was more nervous than I was."  
____________

Beth and Daryl got married in front of the Justice of the Peace two months after he proposed.

They went straight from the courthouse to the bar where Beth was playing that night.

Stepping up to the microphone, Beth tapped it once then began speaking.

"I'm goin' to be starin' off tonight with a new song. I it wrote for my wonderful husband who is here tonight with our little girl."

She smiled at Daryl and Celia, in the front row just as they always were.

Beth strummed her guitar.

"I was standing there crying in the kitchen It's been one of those mornings that's gonna last all day And he comes in, wraps his arms around me And I don't even have to say a thing

That's what makes it love That's what makes it a love song

He comes in, slams the door behind him And he can't hide the worry on his face Even though I got a million things to tell him I know right now he just needs some space

That's what makes it love That's what makes it a love song That's what makes it love That's what makes it a love song

Everybody always sings about it How they're never gonna live without it We don't even have to talk about it 'Cause We're livin it out

That's what makes it love That's what makes it a love song That's what makes it love That's what makes it a love song..."  
___________

Fate is defined as something that is destined to happen, turn out, or act in a particular way.

So was it fate or just dumb luck that Daryl and Beth ended up on the same bus from Atlanta, both running from their pasts.

Either way, they were made for each other.

And to think their love story started on the backseat of a Greyhound bus.

God really does have a funny sense of timing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the songs used in this chapter are "Makin' Plans" and "Love Song" both by Miranda Lambert.
> 
> Thank y'all so much for reading. Y'all are the best!
> 
> *yes, Midnight Rodeo is an actual bar in Austin but it's my favorite lol*


End file.
